John Hanks, the Large Carnivore Program Specialist of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife And Fisheries, joins us to discuss the Notice of Intent by LDWF to hunt black bears this December. This is the first podcast in a series of podcasts around Black Bears in Louisiana, and will be followed by two more podcasts: 1) with Secretary Sheahan about now what - how the state plans to execute the lottery and the hunt, and 2) with Maria Davidson and the history that led us to this point. John Hanks was Maria Davidson's successor at LDWF, and as Maria’s successor, studying large carnivores down in the Bayou State, we hear from John about the resurgence of black bears in the state and how the hunt will be an integral part of that management plan. 

Ashlee and Robbie chop it up about a new custom hat partnership with Lost Hat Company and an upcoming booth appearance at Dallas Safari Club. Then, we get a recap of the premier of Lionheart in Colorado along with an update on the expected ballot initiative there, along with all the news fit to print in the hunting space including a young boy attacked and wounded by a mountain lion, AI misinformation being deployed in anti-hunting efforts, misinformation about big tuskers in Africa, spearfishing vs fly fishing, and more!

Lifelong outdoorsman and retired Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Trooper Stanley Steele joins Robbie to discuss the importance of hunting and conservation in the outdoor community and the need for hunters and outdoor enthusiasts to be more engaged in advocating for their values and passions. Stanley and Robbie discuss the upcoming commission meeting in Oregon, where the adoption of the 2025 big game seasons (including the spring bear season) are on the table. Stanley and Robbie dive deep into the importance of science-based wildlife management and encourages people to support the professional opinions of biologists and conservationists and the need for effective messaging to counter the negative narratives surrounding hunting and conservation.

Today’s question is whether an elephant is really worth an eye-watering $1.6 million of its lifetime, and Robbie is here to provide the context needed to understand this talking point in just 5 minutes. The original 2014 report by the David Schildrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya was picked up by numerous news outlets and went viral, but the intent of the report was to show the live value of an elephant when compared to a POACHING context, not a legal and regulated hunting context.

Returning guest (and Arizona Game and Fish Commissioner) James "Jim" Goughnour joins to discuss another controversial March decision by the AZGFC to reject all three remaining big game auction tags in Arizona (mule deer, elk and sheep) in favor of a more competitive, raffle-esque allocation system in order to give ‘Joe Six Pack’ - or the common man - a real shot at hunting desert sheep. You would have seen conversations about this, emails about this, and wondered if this is actually a good thing or a bad thing. Robbie and Jim get into the nitty grittty of the decision, whether there will be a "told-you so" moment in the future, and whether in this case, bold decisions yields great benefits for wildlife and hunters.

Rebecca Jones, Chief People Officer for Orvis, joins Robbie on Blood Origins to discuss her role and what it is to connect people - both internally and externally - with the Orvis brand. From how it is seen in and outside the walls of the office, Rebecca ‘Jonesy’ Jones is an Aussie living in the US and adult-onset hunter that lives and breathes the Orvis lifestyle. Recorded live on the Cobourg Peninsula of the Northern Territory of Australia.

Recorded on-location from Australia, Robbie is joined by David Luxford (the self-described ‘village idiot’ and arguably Australia’s most famous bowhunter), Nick Joyce (owner of The Last Frontier Safaris), and Rebecca Jones (Chief People officer of Orvis) from a beach in the Northern Territory of Australia. Surrounded by the soft crashing of waves in the background, the team talks through their Banteng adventure and talks about hunting culture in Australia and around the world. Its an extra-ordinary Round-Up podcast that will have you deeply desiring to go and explore places through hunting. Isn't that one of the coolest things about hunting?

Do sportsmen actually pay for conservation? This is a common question from the anti-hunting lobby. The short answer? Yes. In fact, NO other collective group of people in the United States contributes more than sportsmen. Where does this question come from, then? A “study” by the Mountain Lion Foundation claims that 94% of conservation funding is actually from the lay public. However, upon examination, the study is full of red flags and is not peer-reviewed. Listen in to get Robbie’s take as he breaks down what it means, and why sportsmen are the top funder for conservation.

Retired Veterinary biologist Larry Patterson joins the podcast to give an insight in the progression and growth of elephants in Botswana. Robbie's introduction to Larry was fortuitous in nature - while Robbie was in a gas station in the town of Maun, in Botswana he saw a book called "Aiming to Save" with a cross-hair on the front of it on an elephant. At first glance, he expected this book to be a book of anti-hunting sentiment to elephants and naturally purchased it. But upon reading it and closer inspection of the front cover - the cross-hair was on the rump of the elephant i.e., where a vet would shoot a dart to tranquilize the elephant. In our latest documentary on Botswana, Robbie picked up a biography of Larry’s life and the work he has done in Botswana for elephants. Larry is not a hunter but shares his views on wildlife management and elephant management issues specifically in Botswana. This is a fascinating insight into Botswana's elephant history and most importantly since Botswana has the largest elephant population in Africa today.

Robbie comes at you with this week’s roundup with part two recorded on location in Tanzania during a recent Blood Origins trip to see from a ground-level perspective the big tusker controversy between Tanzania and Kenya. Robbie and the Slots Media boys (plus Steff, aka Gerald!) are back to catch up after a grueling 12 days of filming to discuss whether anyone's mind has changed based on seeing and hearing what they have filmed. This podcast is probably a highlight in the elephant controversy as everyone has had an eye-level view of the situation, have heard from all sides, visited both Kenya and Tanzania, and really gotten as deep a perspective on the issue that anyone really has - so what did that do? Interestingly, specifically Steff who is a non-hunter in our crew, didn't really have an opinion last week on the podcast, this week has now formulated his opinion. Unfortunately - even though Robbie mentions that they filmed it (and they did!) Lewis deleted the video file - so no possibility of seeing Lewis covered in a traditional Masaai shuka!

Robbie is joined by outgoing Dallas Safari Club CEO Corey Mason and interim DSC CEO Brian Feinhold to dispel any and all rumors around the transition of Corey and the next steps for the Dallas Safari Club. Robbie wanted to have this conversation with Corey and Brian to give people a sense of what is coming next for DSC and the amazing conservation work they do, the road to Atlanta in 2025, and for everyone really to hear straight from the proverbial horses’ mouths about what happened and whats coming next.

Greg McHale, a 27-year resident of Whitehorse in the Yukon Territories, joins Robbie to talk Whitehorse wildlife and life in his small city of 43,000 on the edge of the legendary Canadian wilderness. From predator-prey relationships to what he’s seeing on the ground, from bears and wolves to sheep and moose, and more. Greg and Robbie met at the beginning of the Blood Origins journey at the Wild Sheep Show back in 2018, where both Greg and Robbie were just beginning their respective journeys with the their projects. There is argubly no tougher individual from his adventure racing days to the kinds of hunts he endures in the Yukon - if you haven't checked out any of Greg's content you can find it by googling "Greg McHale's Yukon Adventures"

Robbie comes at you with this week’s roundup recorded on location in Tanzania during a recent Blood Origins trip to see from a ground level perspective the big tusker controversy between Tanzania and Kenya. Robbie and the Slots Media boys (plus Gerald!) are back in their ‘Audium’ medium to talk about Tanzania elephant hunting, research, and more. This is Part 1 of two round ups in which the crew is at the beginning of a 12 day filming journey and Robbie wanted to capture everyone's perspectives and sentiments about the controversy before talking to anyone around the subject. After the 12 days of filming the Part 2 of the Round Up will drop in which they reconvene to discuss whether anyone's minds have changed based on seeing and hearing what they have filmed.

Dr. Roy Bengis, former State Veterinarian for Kruger National Park and widely recognized as one of the foremost experts in elephant management specifically tied to physiology and contraception joins Robbie to talk about the history of contraception coming to the forefront of the discussion around elephant contraception. Almost 20 years ago, elephants couldn’t even be given away, necessitating the need for management. Now, Dr. Bengis joins Robbie to talk about contraception in elephants, and shares his opinions on wildlife management from a man who spent 30 years living and breathing elephant management. 

Joe Julian, son of the eponymous high end gunroom maker Julian and Sons and recent partner with boot maker Russell Moccasin, joins the podcast live on location with Robbie where the two spend the day on the river, touring the factory, and more. They talk about who Joe is, where he was raised, and the values of Julian and Sons and Russell Moccasin.

J.D, rancher and 4th Generation Wyoming-ite Sarah Falen has spent her career lobbying against legislation and policy that stymies the rural lifestyle. She has also spent significant time exposing waste around outsize salaries and compensation at animal rights organizations.

Jack Carmody, a farmer out of Western Australia and YouTube creator (Jack Out The Back) is gaining some notoriety because of an increasingly controversial hobby of camel hunting. So, he sits down with Robbie to talk about pest management for farmers in Australia, managing invasive species, and the frustrations he faces along the way while trying to manage these animals.

Claudia Breit is a 27-year-old former member of German military intelligence and current full time psychologist who has recently converted from the ‘hunting is cruel’ crowd to being a hunter herself, based around her curiosity of where her meat actually comes from. Robbie and Claudia talk about her conversion from anti-hunter to hunter, the wolf problem they’re currently having in Germany and more.

William Reyntiens is a Belgian hunter who Robbie met on one of his recent adventures, staying at his house during a project for Bergara. William is a volunteer with the “Sauvon Bambi aka Saving Bambi” project in Belgium. This conservation project is funded by Bergara International Fund, where Robbie and the Blood Origins crew are helping out as a way to push back on the bambification of wildlife and hunters and correct that damage by rescuing deer fawns in Belgium. It’s an incredible project, one where hunters are working shoulder to shoulder with non-hunters to save baby deer fawns from farmers hay cutting blades as they cut hayfields that they are hiding in.

Dr. Gary Pusateri M.D., is trying something a little out of the ordinary. Himself and business partners have founded a company called Dream Genomics - it's a company that is interested in using gene sequencing to allow early detection of human diseases. He is also a hunter, and was approached by friends and colleagues and was asked the question if you can do it for humans could you do it for animals - i.e, can you use blood to detect the early signs of animal based diseases like Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)? This conversation dives into that possibility and more.

Niklas Gustafson, a Swedish health and lifestyle influencer living in Spain, joins Robbie to talk about his mission to educate the public about healthy living and debunk myths surrounding a healthful lifestyle. Robbie got wind of Niklas becuase he posted a series of videos of him hunting in Nambia with his sons. Naturally Robbie was curious - the whole premise of the IG page was health, there was no signs that he hunted, but yet here he was posting about hunting. So naturally we wanted to ask him why? Why he hunts, why he was comfortable posting the videos of him hunting etc.?

Robbie, Ashlee, and guest (and Farm Bill expert) Jim Inglis discuss the farm bill and its impact on conservation and hunting, the ongoing controversies surrounding “cougar” (if you’re team Ashlee) or “mountain lion” (if you’re team Robbie) hunting in Washington, Utah, and Colorado, an update on a podcast regarding hunting regulations for grizzlies in Alberta and Alaska by Blood Origins Canada, and the status of caribou populations. The crew also gives an update on the upcoming Lionheart film premiere taking place at the Paramount Theater in Denver (we’re still looking for sponsors!). The conversation then shifts to the decline of caribou populations and the lack of scientific evidence supporting the need for predator control. 

There aren't many times that Robbie is in awe, this podcast with Madison left Robbie in awe. Robbie had being trying to get Madison on the podcast for quite sometime, and during the time things were trying to get scheduled, Madison literally become a world champion. The 2024 World Champion in Women’s Sporting Clays Shooting Madison Sharpe joined Robbie to discuss what it takes to be a world champion shooter, approaching the course, strategy, and a ton of other information about this incredibly unique sport, straight from the baddest woman in shooting herself! If you had any questions about what it takes, what the course is like, and just questions in general - Robbie covers them all.

Meg Day, Social Media Manager for the organization known as VETPAW, joins Robbie for exactly the type of conversation we get jazzed up about at Blood Origins. Meg was introduced to us by Adrian from Buffalo Kloof and suggested she would be a great person to connect with and have a conversation with. VETPAW has been involved in conservation related efforts at BuffaloKloof, and Meg got to see the operation and the role that hunting plays in that conservation success. Meg started out as a vehement anti-hunter and, though she now understands hunting, still may not like it. And that’s okay! From growing up with a mother who is a ‘huge animal hunter’ and being a vegetarian since the age of 14 to today, learn about her journey in wildlife conservation and how she has come to her understanding with hunters and hunting.

Natalie Krebs, Executive Editor of Outdoor Life, catches up with Robbie about her recent jaunt (halfway around the world!) to Australia. She has never been to Australia and went to to understand the duck hunting issues affecting Victoria, Australia. What she found was in her words "shocking". Robbie and Natalie go into discussion about how activists are jumping in the water and sitting ten meters off the decoy spread in kayaks in attempts to spook ducks in one of the most aggressive displays of anti-hunting extremism in the world and recounts her first-hand experience in this craziness.